Vanilla(Vanilla planifolia) CO2 Total Extract/Madagascar

Olfactory Properties of Vanilla CO2 Total Extract/Madagascar(12% natural vanillin content)First of all it is important to distinguish between total and select co2 extracts. A total co2 extract is one in which all the extractable phytochemicals in the plant that can be extracted by co2 are extracted. It means that not only the volatile aromatic constituents of vanilla extracted of which there are over 200, but the resins, fixed oil, etc are also extracted. The total extract therefore tends to be a opaque waxy-oily mass that in cool conditions is non-pourable which is brown to light beige in color. Over time vanillin crystals appear on the surface of the cooled extract.The vanilla co2 total extract displays a fine rich, complex, sweet balsamic, precious woods, soft-spicy bouquet. As the dry out note develops the rich deep balsamic slightly animalic body note blooms. Vanillin the main aromatic component of vanilla is easily synthesized but is very one dimensional in olfactory impact as compared to the complexity of a true co2 extract. Even a high quality genuine absolute which is rich and redolent in the vanilla heart notes and stronger in its olfactory impact cannot match the co2 for complexity.

Interesting facts about vanilla1.The vanilla bean is the fruit of a tropical American species of orchid. It is the one of the few orchids which produce anything edible and there are more than 20,000 orchid varieties.2. Vanilla workers, usually women and children who are quick with their hands, pollinate from 1,000 to 2,000 vanilla orchid flowers per day.3. The first use of vanilla dates back to Mexico, where the Aztecs used it to create a drink called Xoco-lall, made from cocoa and vanilla beans.4. Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing vanilla to the United States in the late 1700s. history of vanillaWhile serving as Ambassador to King Louis XVI of France, he became familiar with vanilla beans, and brought 200 vanilla beans back with him when he returned to the United States. 5. The United States consumption of vanilla beans is approximately 1,200 tons per year!6. For 300 years Mexico maintained its monopoly of vanillabean production despite constant efforts of theEuropeans to induce vanilla vines to bear beans elsewhere in the world. It wasn’t until 1836 when Charles Morren, a French botanist, finally discovered the secret of growing vanilla. His careful examination of the anatomy of the bean led to his discovery of the difficulty of pollination. He then performed the pollination by hand. Thus beans were produced outside of Mexico. Knowledge of theartificial pollination spread to European nations who had colonized tropical regions with climates suitable for growing orchids. These areas began planting vanilla especially the French on the Island of Bourbon (Reunion) and the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).7. Vanilla is a very labour-intensive agricultural crop where the yearly production of a healthy plant is 1.5 to 2Kg of Green Vanilla. It takes five to six kilos of Green Vanilla pods to produce 1Kg of cured vanilla.8. It will take up to three years after the vines are planted before the first flowers appear. The pods resemble big green beans and must remain on the vine for nine months in order to completely develop their signature aroma. However, when the beans or pods are harvested, they have neither flavour nor fragrance. They develop these distinctive properties during the curing process.

Vanilla in Literature

"What about a vanilla ice at the Pâtisserie Delarue, old bean?" said heto Percival.And, unnoticed by the happy couple, they stole silently away.Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, June 25, 1919

There is a beautiful stream meandering through the open fields. Its waters are clear and cool. They are the melted snows of Orizava. Upon its banks grow clumps of the cocoa-palm and the majestic plantain. There are gardens upon its banks, and orchards filled with the fruit-trees of the tropics. I see the orange with its golden globes, the sweet lime, the shaddock, and the guava-tree. I ride under the shade of the aguacate (Laurus Persea), and pluck the luscious fruits of the cherimolla. The breeze blowing over fields carries on its wings the aroma of the coffee-tree, the indigo-plant, the vanilla bean, or the wholesome cacao (Theobroma Cacao); and, far as the eye can reach, I see glancing gaily in the sun the green spears and golden tassels of the sugar-cane.The Rifle Rangers, by Captain Mayne Reid

Around him grew castanha trees with nuts in shells like cannon-balls that hung high over his head; palms with 206leaves so enormous that one could shelter an entire encampment; and birds of species he had never seen before fluttered among the branches. The air was saturated with the heavy though not unpleasant odor of vanilla beans. It was indeed a strange land but Oomah was too ill to take much heed of his surroundings.The Black Phantom, by Leo Edward Miller

Uncounted, delicious odors filled the air, distilled from the wild flowers, the vanilla, orchids, and the forests of oranges, which, though not of Tahiti, were already venerable in their many decades of residence.Mystic Isles of the South Seas, by Frederick O’Brien

About Me

Since childhood I have been interested in the world of natural aromatics. This interest gradually developed into our home business White Lotus Aromatics. Keypoints along this aromatic journey were:
1) living on a small farm in India where many tropical fragrant plants were to be found
2) a career in horticulture, highlighted by working on a formal garden estate, Filoli
3) many journeys throughout the length and breadth of India to explore India's ancient and modern aromatic traditions.
Please note that I have an interest in the wonderful world of natural aromatics, but have no therapeutic expertise. Any mention of ayurveda or other traditional healing systems in strictly for cultural interest.